Lahaina man killed in head-on collision

December 20, 2012

A 20-year-old Lahaina man died Wednesday morning after his Mazda pickup truck, which was trying to overtake a vehicle, collided head-on with a Toyota Tacoma pickup near the Olowalu landfill along Honoapiilani Highway, officials said.

Blaze K. Kalilikane suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene, police said. A preliminary investigation indicated that Kalilikane, who was the lone occupant of the 1989 red Mazda B2200 truck, was not wearing his seat belt during the crash, reported at 6:19 a.m. near Luawai Street.

The 37-year-old driver and lone occupant of the 2001 white Toyota Tacoma truck sustained injuries to his right leg. He was taken to Maui Memorial Medical Center in stable condition, police said.

Article Photos

Maui police investigate a head-on collision between a Toyota Tacoma pickup (left) and a red Mazda pickup on Wednesday morning near the Olowalu landfill on Honoapiilani Highway. The driver of the Mazda, a 20-year-old Lahaina man, died at the scene, police said. The Mazda had been trying to overtake another car when it collided into the Toyota truck, police said.Maui County Paramedics Association photo

The Mazda truck was traveling south on the highway and attempting to overtake a vehicle when it collided head on into the Toyota truck.

The man in the Toyota appeared to have been wearing a seat belt, police reported. Both airbags in the truck were deployed. The Mazda truck was not equipped with airbags.

After the crash, a portion of the highway was closed for several hours while police investigated. Traffic was re-routed to a privately owned access road.

The fatal crash marks Maui County's 23rd traffic death this year, compared with 19 at the same time last year.